Roasted Cajun Potato Wedges

I've always been a potato lover. My mom says it comes from her Waspy heritage while my grandmother (my father's Italian mother) says it's because her father loved them.  I have an Irish last name now - so really you be the judge.  I've never really met a potato I didn't like.

I had a bunch of yukon gold potatoes left from what I didn't put into these mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving so I roasted them with some spices for a tasty side dish to crab cakes & shaved asparagus dinner.

Fancy (& Easy) Shaved Asparagus

I know it probably seems like I run a restaurant when it comes to dinner time at our house since I post so often about different recipes.  I do love to try new things & I really do enjoy changing it up but to be honest most of the time we have the same things on rotation. 

Asparagus is usually one the veggies we always have.  In hopes to change it up this week I changed the shape of the asparagus by shaving them with a vegetable peeler - other than that the flavors of olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper are usual suspects at our dinner table. The best part is this recipe/method (I'm not sure you can even call it a recipe) is simple & cooks really quickly all the while making your dinner table look fancy without trying hard at all.

How do you jazz up your regular dishes?

Cheesey Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

If you follow me on instagram you may have already seen the giant pile of mashed potatoes I made for Thanksgiving. We always have several kinds of potatoes, but my cousin Marco insists it's not Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes - so it we had mashed potatoes & it was officially Thanksgiving.  This year I added two of my favorite things to our potatoes - cheese & garlic - & mashed them with a supped up version of the potato masher that my cousin-in-law, Mariah, said would've made Grandma O'Hara proud.

Keep reading for my recipe. How do you make your mashed potatoes? Do you use a food processor or go for the full arm work out with a traditional masher?

PS: remember if you have a ton of leftover mashed potatoes you can reinvent them with this recipe!

Gilled Artichokes

Artichokes were always a treat in our house growing up. Yes, a vegetable was a treat.  It always seemed like they'd make an appearance every now and then.  I'm pretty sure that their appearance would directly correlate to when they were in season (read: on sale).  Besides being a treat in our house they were also an event in themselves to eat because they make you work. Peeling the leaves, scraping with your teeth until you finally get to the coveted artichoke heart - the best part!  I found this recipe on The Cuban Reuben that gets some of the work out of the way in the prep and adds the grilling element that takes it to another level.

Grilled Green Beans with Feta Cheese

Everything tastes so much better on the grill, even if it's burnt well charred.  These green beans are quick side to make & eat hot or at room temp.

Ingredients

• 1 lb washed & stemmed green beans
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Make it!

1. Pre-heat your grill or a grill pan to medium-high heat.
2. Grill beans about 6-7 minutes or until tender.
3. In a bowl mix olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper.
4. Toss grilled green beans, dressing & crumbled feta together.
5. Serve hot or at room temp (it's probably good cold too!).

Corn on the Cob with Spicy Cajun Butter

It is officially corn on the cob season. You can grill it or boil it. If it's sweet & crunchy who cares how you get there. It' great without anything but even better with a spicy Cajun butter that you can use on your grilled veggies, chicken, steak or potatoes!

White Bean Mash

Chris & I had this delicious white bean mash at Tre Voci.  I couldn't stop thinking about it so I googled it & in seconds I was on my way to recreating Nigella Lawson's recipe.  It's really tasty & is a great alternative to mashed potatoes.
Read on for the full recipe & photos.

Easy Carrots

I made these carrots on a Monday night - which means they have to be quick to cook to make it to the table on a Monday.  They were THAT easy & super tasty!

Ingredients:

• 8-10 carrots, peeled & chopped (or save some time and use baby carrots)
• 1 shallot, halved & sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or you can use butter)
• salt & pepper
• foil

Make it:

1. Place all ingredients in the middle of a large piece of foil.
2. Fold the short ends of the foil in & crimp together. Then roll up the other ends to form a foil pouch but leave enough room to steam the carrots.
3. Throw the whole foil pocket on the grill for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from foil & serve warm.